posted at 6:42 pm on October 15, 2009 by Allahpundit

Via Ace, a fun fact about Anita Dunn that oddly doesn’t appear in WaPo’s three-page profile of her today. Don’t bother pounding the table about firing her, though: She’s already on her way out, which is precisely why the White House’s gutless brain trust tasked her with being the attack dog against Fox.

Long a shunner of the spotlight, Dunn, who declined to comment for this article, would only sign on in April as an “interim” chief, with an end-of-the-year expiration date on her current tenure. But giving up nominal power in the White House allows Dunn to do the dirty work that ultimately assures her staying power inside the administration.

A source inside the White House, who was not authorized to speak about strategy meetings, said Dunn went out front against Fox first and foremost because it was her job, but also because it potentially gave the administration the opportunity to distance itself from the flap with the Roger Ailes-led news channel once she leaves the communications job.

Her response to the clip? She was joking, of course, playing off some old Lee Atwater bit. The audience laughs at the juxtaposition of Mao and Mother Teresa, but the point she draws from the chairman sure does seem serious. Anyone feeling like giving her the benefit of the doubt? Me neither.